Saturday, September 29, 2012

These pictures are from September 2010, on the one and only occasion when I have witnessed Scarlett and Melly truly snuggling. Even though it's been two years, I still have hope for a repeat performance!

Friday, September 28, 2012

Yesterday afternoon, some work needed to be done on the windows of my apartment. To prevent the cats from escaping or getting in the way of the work, I had to put them in the only room that wasn't affected: the bathroom. Scarlett didn't mind much since I threw handfuls of treats in the door periodically, but Melly was not pleased. There were Interesting Things happening, and she was not able to investigate them!

Thursday, September 27, 2012

In order to get Scarlett into her carrier peaceably, I have to go through an elaborate misdirection that spans a couple of days. Melly, on the other hand, actually likes spending time in her carrier and frequently naps in it in the living room. However, when she has to be in the carrier for a trip, she loathes it.

I took this video at Geoff's house right after putting Melly in her carrier to come home:

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Geoff and I went to the Puyallup (Pew-AL-up) Fair on Sunday, and it was a lot of fun. I took tons of pictures of the draft horses and fancy chickens. Scarlett is sitting with me as I type this and is quite fascinated by the chicken pictures:

Evolutionary advantage: indistinguishable front and back ends.

As silly as the pompom chickens were, my favorite animals were the draft horses.

Check out those legs, they're like tree trunks!

This fellow was quite good natured and gamely put up with being pawed at by dozens of grubby little hands.

The Percheron were absolutely massive: all around two tons, and over six feet tall at the shoulders. Their hooves were the size of dinner plates.

I had to promise to watch part of a football game to get Geoff to look at the quilts with me, but it was worth it.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Geoff here again, this time Natalie's actually here, but even though she's with the cats, she's generously allowed me to write today's post. Melly is on her lap, butting noses, while Scarlett is purring away, laying against my thigh, as in the pic from yesterday's post.

When I left off yesterday, we were heading to bed, so I thought I'd pick up there.

Upon arriving in my bedroom I found the cats united in a common cause.

"Don't mind us, we're just hanging out here, shedding on your shirt. It will look much nicer when we're done. Carry on now, away with you, large biped."

But when I removed the shirt and climbed into bed, they scattered...temporarily.

Melly retreated to the dresser where she did her impersonation of a hunchback.

Scarlett was a bit bolder and moved back in quite quickly.

"She's over there, isn't she? I can feel her...staring at us. Ugh."

Not too long, though, and Melly returned to the bed, where a faceoff ensued.

That broke up quickly though, with Melly heading to her favorite bedtime place: under the covers. More accurately, a tent under my legs, under the covers.

"This is cool right? Okay, good. Now you just need to not move all night long. Got it?"

Scarlett, however was content to stay above the covers, where this could happen.

Friday, September 21, 2012

As a follow-up to yesterday's post from Natalie, I thought I'd give a status report on the wee furry beasties. (FYI, this is Geoff, the fiancé.)

I brought the cats to my place early Tuesday morn. When we arrived, it was getting close to their regular breakfast time, so I fed them to help get them feeling comfortable. It's been quite a while since they've been here, so I hoped they'd remember the place as a familiar venue (and one they both quite enjoy).

If anything, they certainly hadn't lost their familiarity with food:

After work I had more time to gauge how they'd settled in. Scarlett had reacquainted herself with the sliding glass door onto the deck.

"I enjoy this view, however, you're welcome to open the door so I can get a closer look."

Thursday, September 20, 2012

My landlord is doing a small repair project in my apartment this week, so Geoff has very kindly taken the cats to his condo for a while. I was there on Tuesday and Melly was happy as a clam, running around at breakneck pace and rolling gleefully on the thick carpets. Scarlett was still a little uneasy from the trip, but she was clearly thrilled to get lots more snuggle time with Geoff. (Text message received from Geoff: "Scarlett just drooled on my lap.")

When I came home yesterday, it took a few seconds before I realized I didn't have to edge through the door to prevent feline escape. It was liberating to leave the door ajar while I got the mail, and freeing to leave the chewables (hairpins, headphones, cables) out in the open instead of hiding them from Melly. But the apartmet was, and is, eerily still. It's unsettling to be going about my business without a cat on my lap, or creepily watching me, or trying to eat my hair.

Aside from the disorienting lack of feline company, there is another problem resulting from the cats' absence: spiders. Melly, as you know, is a ruthless assassin of arachnids, and although spider limbs can frequently be found scattered about the floor (Melly prefers to snack only on the middle bit), I didn't realize just how much she was doing to keep the population in check. It had been weeks since I'd seen a live one, but in the first five minutes after I got home from work yesterday--this was after less than 48 hours of catlessness--I found two Tegenaria duellica, also known as the giant house spider.

Now, small house spiders and spiders that live outside don't bother me in the least, but Tegenaria duellica gives me the willies. We did not have them where I grew up, so I was utterly unprepared the first time I saw one in Seattle--in the shower I had just stepped into. It was a particularly vulnerable moment of horror, and I've been terrified of them ever since. Therefore, it was very exciting when Melly demonstrated her enthusiasm for dispatching these fearsome beasts, although my appreciation for her talents is much greater now that I am under siege!*

The two spiders I found are each trapped under a glass on the kitchen floor. I'm not sure what to do with them and am considering leaving them there until Melly gets back.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

After I washed the blue blanket (and pulled a glob of cat hair roughly the size of a watermelon out of the dryer lint filter) and put it back on the dresser, Scarlett was skeptical. It smelled Not Right.

Melly, of course, was not in the least bit hesitant, and immediately leapfrogged over Scarlett to get to her spot.

"My blanket smells wrong, and The Interloper is invading it.

I disapprove."

It took Scarlett a while to settle in after Melly left...

"Do you know how much shedding I am going to have to do to make up for all the fur you washed off this?

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The blue blanket on which Scarlett spends 99% of her time was getting pretty furry and gross, so I decided to wash it. Unfortunately, my timing was not great as both Scarlett and Melly were asleep on the blanket at the time. (Communal washers in my building mean that there's not a ton of flexibility in the laundry schedule; when a machine is open, one must pounce!) So, I relocated the cats to the bed, where there were several piles of clothes in various stages of the laundry process.

Melly burrowed into the comforter, completely unfazed by the relocation. Scarlett settled grumpily on a heap of black pants.

"Oh, blue blanket, I miss you already.

But these pants show off my white fur, so they'll do for now."

Unfortunately for Scarlett, the black pants were there because they were going to be dry-cleaned.

Friday, September 14, 2012

I came across these pictures last week when I was looking for something for the Saturday PhotoHunt.

This one was taken about a week after Melly arrived here, and I love the way Scarlett is looking at her.

This one has a bit of a laser eye situation, but it cracks me up anyway--Melly is so tiny but already clearly in charge. Poor Scarlett. I don't think Melly has let her on that platform more than a few times since this picture was taken.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

I normally try to blog a couple of days ahead so that I have a few days of extra photos stored up for days when I haven't had time to take pictures or the cats haven't done anything especially photo-worthy. Yesterday, however, I was post-less and uninspired. So, at my usual blogging time, I went and found the cats and took pictures of what they happened to be doing at the time.

Scarlett was on the dresser. (I know. It was difficult to contain my shock.)

Melly was lurking in the hallway, hoping for treats. Her mind has two tracks: food and mischief.

As soon as I got close with the camera, she commenced scolding me for not providing treats.

Unfortunately for her, her squeaky little voice is far from intimidating.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

About the Blog

“The Adventures of Scarlett & Melly” is written by Natalie, human servant of an attitudinal middle-aged tabby and a rambunctious young tuxie. The blog details the daily lives of these two ridiculous felines and also features occasional posts about baking.